Tonight's Flyers - Kings Matchup Is a Battle With the Past
The Philadelphia Flyers will square off against the Los Angeles Kings tonight in an early season hockey clash. Tonight doesn't just represent an opportunity for the Flyers to go 4-0 to start a season for the 1st time since 1995, it is also a battle against the past of the Flyers organization.
The most obvious figure of the past for the Flyers is Mike Richards. Richards is the guy who captained this Flyers team for the past few years, and came within two wins of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Philly in 2010. Richards was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 23rd in the second of a series of moves that would redefine this Flyers team and it's organizational philosophy.
In trading Richards and his longtime friend and teammate, Jeff Carter, the Flyers made a commitment to a new direction in their way of thinking. They signed a top of the line goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov, and took a team that was young but seasoned and made them into a younger and inexperienced team with a tremendous amount of upside. It may not sound like it, but it was a dramatic shift for the Flyers. Adding younger players like Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier (taken in the draft with a pick acquired in the Carter trade) allowed the Flyers to sign Jaromir Jagr in a stunning move, while saying goodbye to Ville Leino, Dan Carcillo and Brian Boucher.
In addition to Mike Richards, former Flyers Simon Gagne and Justin Williams will also be in the Kings lineup this evening. And, you don't have to go too far back in history to remember Kings' assistant coach John Stevens as the head coach of the Flyers. Stevens was fired in December of 2009, and replaced with current coach Peter Laviolette. The man Stevens assists is Terry Murray who coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.
Former Vezina Award winning goaltender and Director of Professional Player Development, Ron Hextall has been the Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings since 2006, yet another link to the past of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers team that will take the ice tonight, is infinitely different than the one that skated this time last year. Last year's team had an outstanding first half that saw them establish themselves as one of the top teams in the NHL. The second half featured a team that seemed distracted and uncommitted. Defensive zone breakdowns, a lack of solid goaltending and a 2nd round exit from the playoffs led to the offseason changes.
Tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers will take a step toward finding out whether this team can outperform its past, or whether it will still be haunted by ghosts of the past.
